Gear Leaching PFAS, Silence Disappearing from Wilderness, and Building a Quinzhee with Steven from MyLifeOutdoors (#369)

In today's episode of Backpacker Radio presented by The Trek, brought to you by LMNT, we are joined by Steven of My Life Outdoors, a gear-obsessed backpacker who grew his YouTube channel to over 1.2 million subscribers through high-production gear breakdowns and hands-on science experiments.

In this one, we dive into Steven's emotional year supporting his wife through three separate cancer diagnoses, her rare complete response to immunotherapy, and the story of how Luke Nichols from Outdoor Boys randomly gifted him a fully-edited video to keep his channel afloat during the crisis. Steven also breaks down some of his most popular videos, including the custom rain chamber he build to prove that GORE-TEX jackets do in fact leach forever chemicals.

We also cover his quest for "true silence" that led him to anechoic chambers and the remote borders of Big Bend National Park, the logistics of building a winter quinzhee, and the counterintuitive thermodynamics of wearing fishnet base layers in freezing weather.

We wrap the show with a last call to RSVP for our upcoming Seattle Hiker Meetup, a breakdown of how to get from the Denver airport to Waterton Canyon on the cheap, Peg Leg's list of trail foods she never gets tired of, a Question of the Day deciding between one day in Ancient Egypt vs one spent with aliens, a Triple Crown of our favorite Disney and Pixar movies, and a mailbag serving as a Durston Gear ad.

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Shady Rays: Use code "TREK" for 40% off two or more pairs of sunglasses at shadyrays.com.

Hyperlite Mountain Gear: Use code "BPRADIO15" for 15% of hyperlitemountaingear.com

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Interview with Steven of MyLifeOutdoors

• MyLifeOutdoors.com
• MyLifeOutdoors Youtube
• MyLifeOutdoors Instagram

Time stamps & Questions

00:05:12 - Reminders: Join us for a hiker meetup in Seattle, subscribe to The Trek's Youtube, and listen to our episodes ad-free on Patreon!

00:07:50 - Introducing Steven

00:08:30 - How did your channel grow by more than half a million subscribers in the past year?

00:16:30 - How was it for you to manage being a partner and a creator while supporting your wife?

00:18:59 - Discussion about Luke Nichols gifting Steven a video to keep his channel going

00:23:13 - How is your wife doing now, and what does life look like post-treatment?

00:31:02 - Were you eased into the outdoors as a kid?

00:34:13 - Where was your first backpacking trip?

00:36:39 - What drew you to science-based content, and do you have an educational background in science?

00:39:26 - Are your kids into your outdoor content?

00:42:06 - Tell us about your PFAS/GORE-TEX video and its broader impact

00:47:19 - When you came out with the PFAS video, where were consumers in their awareness?

00:59:24 - Did you face any legal or industry pushback after the video?

01:01:43 - Tell us about your "disappearing silence in the wilderness" video

01:12:42 - What was your experience finding true silence in Big Bend?

01:14:24 - Tell us about building a quinzhee for your snow shelter video

01:26:05 - Discussion about post-PFAS rain gear — what are you using now?

01:28:34 - When you try gear you don't love, how do you handle that responsibly with such a large audience?

01:32:47 - How many gear pitches do you get, and how do you filter them?

01:35:01 - When did you decide to delegate some work to an assistant?

01:36:46 - What are your three favorite pieces of gear?

01:39:24 - Where do you source your gear knowledge and stay on top of new releases?

01:47:22 - Tell us about the science of mesh base layers and fishnet baselayers in cold weather

01:50:32 - How do you craft titles and thumbnails, and do you A/B test them?

01:52:45 - How do you handle negative comments online?

01:54:49 - Stay Salty Question: What's your hottest take in the world of backpacking?

Segments

Trek Propaganda:

• How to Get From Denver to Waterton Canyon in Under $30 and 4 Hours by Jackson Mauser
• 8 Trail Foods I Never Got Tired of, Even After 22,000 Miles by Peg Leg

QOTD: If you knew you were safe, would you rather spend 1 day in ancient Egypt, or 1 day with aliens?

Triple Crown of Disney/Pixar movies

Mail Bag

5 Star Review

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